Research Notes

New Look at Brain Blood Flow Affects Views of Alzheimer’s

New findings that long-overlooked brain cells play an important role in regulating
blood flow in the brain could open a new frontier when it comes to understanding
Alzheimer’s disease. That’s according to a new study led by neuroscientist
Maiken Nedergaard that was published in the February issue of Nature Neuroscience.
Nedergaard found that star-shaped brain cells known as astrocytes play a direct
role in controlling blood flow in the brain, a crucial process that allows parts
of the brain to burst into activity when needed. The finding is intriguing for
a disease like Alzheimer’s, which has long been considered a disease of
neurons, not astrocytes.

Study Finds No Link Between Childbirth and Incontinence

Postmenopausal women who have given birth vaginally do not appear to suffer
from urinary incontinence at higher rates than their sisters who have never
given birth, according to a new study led by Gunhilde Buchsbaum, an associate
professor of obstetrics and gynecology. Published in the December issue of Obstetrics
and Gynecology, the results are contrary to conventional thinking that
vaginal delivery will result in urinary incontinence later in life. The study
showed that genetics, not childbirth, seemed to play the largest role in determining
risk.

Older Antibiotics Less Effective Against Step Throat, Doctors Say

Pediatricians at the Medical Center have presented more evidence that it’s
time for antibiotic stalwarts like penicillin and amoxicillin to step aside
when it comes to treating strep throat. Michael Pichichero, a professor of microbiology
and immunology who did the study with colleague Janet Casey, a clinical associate
professor of pediatrics, reviewed the treatment of 11,426 children and found
that even a short course of the newer drugs known as cephalosporins is more
effective than the traditional 10-day dose of the older antibiotics.

Study: Women Deserve a Cardiac Zap as Much as Men

Women who have had a heart attack get as much survival benefit as men from
implanted cardioverter defibrillators, according to a new study led by doctors
at the Medical Center. Published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology,
the study took a new look at previous research that showed the devices, which
monitor the heart’s pumping rhythm and shock it back to normal when needed,
could reduce mortality in patients. Lead author Wojciech Zareba, an associate
professor of medicine, says that although some research indicates women are
much less likely to receive the devices during their treatment, the Rochester
study shows that both genders get a similar benefit from the therapy.

Laser Lab Receives More Than $72 Million

The Laboratory for Laser Energetics will receive $72.6 million for current
operations and for construction of its new, four-beam extension facility through
a bill signed by President Bush last fall. The funding includes $25 million
for the new Omega EP facility and is part of the Energy and Water Development
Appropriations Act for 2006. The new Robert L. Sproull Center for Ultra High
Intensity Laser Research will extend the lab’s capabilities for possible
experiments in areas such as modeling the very young universe, understanding
the quantum world, and studying laser-matter interactions.